The book is finally out after years of work and re-writes, even a theft at one time. I am still reeling from it all. So surreal to know that my work is now in print and being distributed throughout the country and around the world. It will be nice to have a physical copy containing my own recipes and notes for reference.Even better is the fact that my son will be able to read his own name printed in the dedication and know of his father's love and legacy hard-won in that name.
This book talks about old-time hoodoo, where it came from and how it developed. I do not simply talk about the same tired old stuff you read on wiki about how it derives from African tribal traditions and blends christianity and other folk ways. I also go into the spirit behind hoodoo, the personal experiences of the people which drove the development of this system. So few books bother to really put into perspective the cultural connotations carried by spiritual systems. Hoodoo is not the simple product of this racial group and that religion, it is a product of PEOPLE who endured and were pushed to find solutions in an unfair world. I tried my best to give readers that perspective.
Many formulas and recipes are included in the book. In fact, more than half of this book is devoted to ingredients and concoctions of various types. I have included things you would expect from such a work, spiritual baths, mojo bags, oils and powders etc. I have also included things you might not expect, natural medicine. It is, in my opinion, an integral part of the practice that I find is almost never mentioned in books about hoodoo. Magic and healing go hand in hand. A magical system as practical and down-to-earth as hoodoo would sooner rely on tonics and salves than crystals and reiki. People forget that hoodoo is not all pins and dolls and praying the psalms, it is a system developed to fill a need in poor rural communities. That is why i chose the title "Backwoods Shamanism" because I believe that is precisely what it is. Like I always say, they call us hoodoo "doctors" for a reason. It is this spin on the hoodoo worker as a modern American shaman that i hope will make this book unique and valuable to novice and adept alike.
No sooner than I approved the draft of this book did I come up with my NEXT book idea. I have already begun writing and love the way it is shaping up. It will be about a little known ethnic group called the Melungeons, a subject I have always been deeply invested in because my own family is more melungeon than anything else. This new title will cover the history and possible origins of the people and will discuss the unique spirituality and magical traditions held by this elusive "lost tribe" of America.
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